The Lost Journal Of Jackson

You are crossing the Wilderness in an adventure, and you stumble across a journal. It is the story of Jackson and Aoduen looking for a lost relic of Guthix himself. A bard's tale led them to this journey, and as you read Jackson's adventure you learn the outcome of this relic.

1. The Lost Journal of Jackson

Aoduen sat on the southern face of the Wilderness Volcano, waiting for me with a look of such strong desire for whatever lies ahead in our very near future. I signaled to him my arrival, and with a brief greeting we began to walk east to a location only he knows. This surely is a perilous place, bones and debris littered all around the black soil, or what I can only guess is soil due to the unique texture and colour. The edges of the volcano are so steep that if you were to climb to the upper most edges, you could see far north in the Wilderness; giving you sights of, what my studies tell me, are the east edge of the Red Dragon Isle, and the west edge of the Lava Maze. (Mem. Don’t let Aoduen take you north.) Aoduen told me he has only approached the Wilderness Volcano once, only to be deterred by an unnatural feeling that he felt he should avoid.

He is a strange man, old enough for his face to show signs of past hardship, but young enough to seem childish with his blue eyes and ever growing curly hair. A thick brow was prominent on his face, which makes reading his actions and emotions very difficult. We met in the Blue Moon Inn in which he inquired to me the journey we are about to face. Many details are still unknown to me.

We are well past Varrock, Edgeville, and the neighboring areas. The celestial sphere over our heads was polluted with darkness and a black haze, accompanied by the interesting sounds of lava bubbling from distant locations. But not of course complete without the warm draft that is caused by them. I felt like I had almost escaped all bonds of civilization, only to be chained again by the unknown around me.

As we travelled, we approached a large opening in the volcano walls, although I have yet to see any signs of activity inside proving it is truly a volcano. To my dismay, there was a skeleton on one of the few ledges that hung over the opening of the volcano. Surely that must have dated back past even my great grandparents due to such decay on the bone, turning it grey and brittle. Over the shoulder of the skeleton, which seems to be a male, was a notched spear that had not aged gracefully. In the earth below him, was somehow shaped into what looks like a crude arrow facing directly towards the center of the volcano in a hue of black.

I noticed we began heading northwest instead of our usual direction, passing large spires of rock that curved inward above our heads. When we passed the crude entrance to the volcano, it opened past my sight of view, forcing me to look far east and west. Small ledges were scattered in almost uniform rings, with sloped paths all leading towards the center.

Guarding whatever we were heading to, was a towering Greater Demon. I had never seen one in person, only from whatever readings I had briefly encountered them in. It must have been twice my height, with a wingspan that could rival the Gargoyles! With two grey horns, glowing yellow eyes, and the largest claws I have ever encountered, it sent chills through my body. The Demon’s guttural and gravelly voice roared and veered to attack. Aoduen quickly yelled to me,

“Get out the way, quick! Let me handle this!”

I quickly stammered out the way, and dodged the great claws that swooped in front me. I saw the gruesome claws on the Demon’s hands which were stained red from the blood of slain opponents. I quickly told Aoduen,

“Do something! I have no training in any method of combat!”

I watched as Aoduen equipped his Abyssal Whip, a truly foul weapon. The whip was coloured red, with sharp points facing downward which allowed them to get stuck in the opponent as you drag the weapon down. In his opposite hand, he wore a Dragon Defender, almost the same shade of red as the Abyssal Whip. It was curved upward, and had ridges along the blade to add to the severe damage on the enemy. With almost no effort, he whipped the Greater Demon and countered using his Defender with such mastery! (Mem. Have Aoduen teach you some tips.)

The Demon was far more powerful than we had expected, it shrugged the wounds off and charged with great fury! With another slash aimed towards Aoduen this time, he was not quick enough to dodge the mighty blow. On his right shoulder you could see the pierced skin where the claws hit him, but Aoduen was a seasoned fighter and continued on. With another slash with his whip, he wrapped it around the Demon and threw him hard on the earth below us. Quicker than I had ever seen a warrior fight, he hacked at the monster with his whip, until it was finally defeated.

Unfortunately, the demon was just the beginning of the problems we encountered. As my gaze crossed the volcano, I saw more and more skeletons just like the one at the entrance, grey and aged. But in this case, I could tell something was very different.

Along the circular middle of the volcano, the skeletons were lacking a weapon like the previous one, and held a perplexing pose. They were all on their knees with their arms over their faces as to cover themselves from the imminent death they had received. (Mem. Don’t do whatever they did.) What was confusing to me was the scorched earth directly behind them, as though some sort of fire exploded towards them radiating from the center. We had just passed another skeleton when I turned towards Aoduen and said,

“What could have possibly done such damage? In my studies I could only guess a dragon’s breath, but the burns on the earth and the directions they are facing tell me otherwise.”

He sped up his pace now directly east; towards what he imagines will be the center. The slopes are truly our savior, for I fear if we had to climb back up in haste we would not be able to make it. He said to me,

“I fear it is something toward the center of this volcano, I have the same feeling again that I had last time I attempted to come here. But that is why I brought you along with me.”

After we broke conversation, we continued to walk ahead to see what looked like broken remnants of an old structure, segments of pillars, walls, and detailed edges. Oddly enough, they were floating midair, the only thing that seemed the keep them from floating away were the thin black chains that did not look anywhere near the age of the skeletons that surround us. Somehow there were the various shades of green and blue wrapped around the pieces, scintillating so vibrantly that it was almost hypnotic. I examined the pieces closer to see they were from a demonic ruin, I can only imagine what it looked like at its prime. I turned to Aoduen and said,

“What is the point of this mission? I feel as though you have been keeping information away from me. I have almost died already and I fear that much worse is ahead!” He replied almost unsure whether or not he should tell me,

“There is a song I once heard by a bard that talked of a volcano in the Wilderness that contains a relic of the great god, Guthix. I am here to find that relic, and you are here to help.”

I had no idea why he wanted a relic of Guthix, but I just wanted to leave this wretched place so I obliged. As we walked, there was a humming sound that slowly grew the closer towards the center we went. By this point, we were surrounded by the floating remains of the demonic ruins, and had our ears blasting with the buzzing, we must be close! Something powerful was emanating this noise, and I had my suspicions that it was the relic we are searching after.

That is when we approached it. Aoduen laughed to me and said,

“Well, it is a lot bigger than I expected!”

In front of us was a monolith taller than any building I have seen in Gielinor, except for the Dominion Tower which I had spent many days travelling to. The relic was almost the same colour as the aura around the floating ruins. Along the front on the monolith had inscriptions of ancient writing on it that glowed cyan. It was in the shape of a large blade without the hilt, and from the way this journey has turned out it would not be surprising if it was the actual sword of Guthix himself due to the insignia of his symbol on the top of it. I believe that is crashed into the center of the volcano because of the giant shards of rock that surround it. The whole thing was just magnificent! I asked Aoduen,

“How do you expect to get that out of here?” He replied,

“I just don’t know…I didn’t imagine it was anything close to this size, it looks like our journey comes to an end here. “ I said,

“Well I didn’t come here for nothing, I am going to get closer.”

I approached the statue and touched it, my heart sank when I saw what was near. The monolith began to pulsate, and the air around me seemed to be full of incandescent orbs now, floating gently along the warm drafts I earlier experienced. They slowly circled the skeletons, and I was horrified to see them dissappate into their new hosts. Time became long, awful, and horrific for me, as I am processing as many solutions as I can. I cried,

"Aoduen where are you? Save me from my impending doom!"

But I knew he fled the scene as soon as he expected danger.

If someone is reading my journal, it is safe to assume that I did not make it back. Good bye my friends, for I wish I had learned how to fight. I pray that Aoduen has made it out safely.